When Ryan
Matthews meets Julia Abbott for the first time at Stanford University, he
immediately knows she will change his life.
They have an instant, unbreakable connection that goes beyond partying
and palpable attraction. Although his
intelligence and good looks land him any girl he wants, Ryan hesitates to cross
that line with Julia because she quickly becomes the best friend he’s ever had.

Both
secretly in love, Ryan and Julia are terrified to take the chance that could
mean the loss of the very person they don’t want to lose. As the bond between them grows stronger, they
are both miserable as they are forced to watch as they each date other
people. But will Ryan’s all-consuming
jealousy and Julia’s deeply broken heart torment them enough to make one or
both walk away?

Join Ryan
and Julia on the beginning of the journey that has made Kahlen Aymes’
Remembrance Trilogy an international bestselling favorite among her
readers. This book was written after The
Trilogy was finished due to an abundance of reader requests for more of Ryan
and Julia’s story.

My beer slipped from my fingers, and I
scrambled to catch it but it was being lifted by another set of slender fingers
without the blazing red nails. By the
time my eyes shifted up and focused, Julia was leisurely taking a drink from my
bottle. Her hooded green eyes appraised
me, with my date almost on my lap. I
barely noticed Leah because my attention was on Julia, and then her eyes
shifted twelve inches right, landing on Leah.
Julia hated beer, but still here she was, stamping her ownership with
something as simple as a pull on my beer bottle. She probably didn’t even know the effect it
had on me at such a base level, but I fucking loved it. Something tightened deep inside my chest, and
my dick twitched inside my jeans.

“Ryan!
Are you gonna let her do that?”
Leah demanded indignantly, her eyes flashing haughtily up at Julia.

My lips raised in the slightest
smirk. Julia echoed it when her eyes
locked with mine.

“Yeah, she… uh, she can do that,” I
confirmed without emphasis. Amusement at
Julia’s confidence made me want to laugh out loud. I felt fucking elated.

Leah huffed beside me and angrily flung
herself back against the cushions of the couch, removing her leg from
mine. “Well, do you know her?”

“Yeah. Yeah, I know her.” Boy, do
I know her.

Julia wobbled a little, and I could see
she’d had more to drink than she needed.
Still, she grinned at me, her arm bent at the elbow as she curled my
beer close to her chest, not drinking, just holding it in place. My instinct was to reach out or stand up to
steady her.

Angrily, Leah pushed on my shoulder and
spewed venom in Julia’s direction. “Are
you going to introduce us? Is she your
sister?”

Julia started to giggle. “Pffft!
Do I look like his sister?”

“Then who are you?” my date demanded, her expression
hard. I watched the exchange, anxious to
see what Julia would say.

“Oh, we’re ….” She handed back my beer and walked behind me
to sit on the top edge of the back of the couch and slid her hand over the
shoulder Leah had shoved. “Well, let’s
see… we’re… mmmm...” Her words were nonchalant but her eyes
widened, waiting for me to finish the sentence.
“What exactly are we, Ryan?”

“This is my best friend Julia. Jules, this is Leah.” I said the words carefully, but couldn’t tear
my eyes from Julia’s face. Her features
were filled with laughter and devilry.

“His date,” Leah spat.

“Congratulations.” Julia focused on Leah and wagged a finger in
her direction. She was clearly
tipsy. “You need a donut.”

A laugh burst from my chest because I
couldn’t help myself. You need a donut. I thought it was
fucking hilarious, but Leah was clearly pissed.

“What did you say?”

“You seriously need a donut.”

Leah looked indignant and furious, but my
shoulders were visibly shaking with laughter when Julia turned her attention to
me. “Can I talk to you for a sec?”

“Excuse me,” I murmured to Leah then
immediately rose to follow Julia a few feet away. “Are you being careful?”

“Is it just a coincidence that you and
Twiggy are here tonight?”

I swallowed at the accusation in her
tone. She was tipsy, but her eyes still
burned into mine. “Yeah. I had no idea you were even going out, but
I’m glad I’m here. Who is that
guy?” I wanted to ask why she let him
touch her in such a familiar way but clamped my jaw shut.

“He’s a guy. Collin, I think? No big deal.”
She shrugged nonchalantly, and her hand came to rest on the front of my
shirt. I should have been reassured as
her deep green eyes looked up imploringly.
“Don’t worry, Ryan.”

It was all I could do not to cover her
fingers with my own. “I worry.”

“I know.”
She leaned in and wrapped her arms around my waist in a brief hug and
the scent of her perfume engulfed me.
“I’m glad to see you. I’ll call
you tomorrow.”

I'm a single mother of one daughter,
Olivia. She's amazing in every way.

I was born in the Midwestern United
States and educated at a private university where I received a Bachelor's
degree in Marketing and Business Administration.

I've always been creative with art,
music, theater and writing. I decided to write a story as a way to build a
network for a business venture. The reader support of my stories and my
overwhelming desire to find out where my characters would take me, soon had the
writing morphing the business. No one was more shocked than I. When readers
began nominating my work for online awards, it took my breath away and only
made me love it more. It soon became clear that writing was, and should be, my
focus.